Over sixty leading retail CEOs wrote to The Times today to voice concerns about the impact of the forced closure of “non-essential” retailers during the current lockdown.
These closures come despite a recent Sage Paper which said that closing ‘non-essential’ retail would have minimal impact on the transmission of Covid.
In the letter, bosses from some of Britain’s biggest retailers including Mark s and Spencer say that November and December account for over a fifth of all retail sales and if all shops are not allowed to reopen by the start of December, many stores may never reopen putting thousands of retail jobs at risk
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, said:
“The closure of thousands of retailers is compounding the challenges facing our high streets. ‘Non-essential’ stores are estimated to be losing £2 billion per week during lockdown – yet rents continue to mount, and the business rates cliff edge is looming. All the while, Government reports show the impact of closures on Covid transmission is low.
“To avoid local communities being hit hard by large scale shop closures and job losses, the Chancellor must address three issues – Rents, Rates and Reopening. Government should extend the rents moratorium, giving essential breathing space to allow negotiations between retailers and landlords to continue. They must ensure retailers do not face an £8bn rates bill from 2021. And they must ensure shops can reopen from the start of December as the all-important Christmas shopping period gets into full swing.”
